Monday, September 11, 2006

A few more shots...

I’ve wanted to properly update my entry and continue with my tales of Thailand, but last week I was so busy conducting workshop to train colleagues at my work place. Not only that, my third son, who is in a boarding school in Kajang got his left middle finger slammed by the door (caused by the wind) at the mosque in his school.

The nail which was causing excruciating pain to him has to be pulled out. As a result, I had to take him home and the whole of last week he had to be taken to the clinic almost every day for dressing. He is now back in school, but I still have to visit him every other day to send him for dressing. Luckily the school is only in Kajang which is only half an hour’s drive away from home.

To continue with my tale, one of the places I visited in Bangkok was Jim Thompson’s house. This intriguing American came to Bangkok in 1945 and three years later, founded the Thai Silk Company before setting about the mammoth task of dismantling six teak houses from other parts of Thailand and reassembling them in their current location.

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any photos inside the house itself.




Another classic northern-style teak house that I saw was Baan Kamthieng which was originally constructed in Chiang Mai more than 200 years ago and donated to Siam Society by its owners and reconstructed right in the middle of the city of Bangkok.

Displayed are items traditionally used by Thai farmers and fishermen. Unfortunately again, we were not allowed to take any photographs inside the house itself. A very large variety of Thai flora and fauna can be seen in the garden of the house. The following is just a sample:


Both Jim Thompson’s house and Baan Kamthieng is open daily, except Sunday and Monday from 9:00 A.M.-12 noon and 1 P.M. - 5 P.M. An admission fee of 100 Baht, is charged to help maintain the property and grounds. It is located on 131 Soi Asoke (Soi 21), Sukhumvit Road.

It is located on 131 Soi Asoke (Soi 21), Sukhumvit Road.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

it puzzles me, how do you get to know the existance of the places and they are worth seeing. directories? friends?

did you make any new friends there? it would have been quiet travelling alone. i had travelled before, alone during my varsity days to pakistan, india and kashmir. i even befriended an american jew when i got stuck in Jammu, Kashmir because they had no more reserved train seat.

how is your third doing? matron hostel tak tolong buat dressing ke? kesian dia, sakit nak pakai kasut or bersukan.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about the mishap. Make sure it doesnt get infected.

Sukhomvit Rd. I remember that one. When my sis OG offered me to come along to Bangkok on her daughter's last swim meet in April I tried to look up for hotel rates and found many on that road.

Apparently even many Malaysians made it big in Thai doing all sort of business because the labor is cheap and the red-tape is much less compared to Malaysia!

pycnogenol said...

Ikelah - I do my homework ikelah. Lonely planet publications is a good source when you are travelling on a shoestring.

Friends? Yes, met a few on my way to and back from there. But in Bangkok itself, I'd rather be all by myself. Looking back, it must have been all those years (after getting my first degree and before marrying 1980-1985) I was so independent and travelling around UK and Europe all by myself.

No. 3 is slowly settling down. I'll be seeing him after office today. Surprisingly, he's very brave.

DITH - The Sukumvit area epitomizes modern Bangkok from its high rise apartments to air-conditioned shopping centers and stylish boutiques and restaurants. Sukumvit also has a wide selection of nightly entertainment venues making this one of the city's more colourful areas.

Yes, you are right. Met a few Malaysians (not too sure if they've made it big there,though) and of course, it's always good to hear Bahasa Melayu being spoken in a foreign land. Dont go and assume by the looks though. Many of them look just like you and me. I was mistaken for a Thai many, many times. Sayang tak tahu berbahasa Siam. :(

Jalilah said...

Wah, pycno, you were in Thailand? You see, I haven't surf the net for quite some time and dah jadi outdated dah. Hope you had a wonderful time there.

Anonymous said...

Pycno, teringat pulak when I had the chance to be on my own when i went to London in July.

I was soooo bored! and so concious because takut ada pickpocket. nak guna mobile phone pun mcm takut2.

and paling boring, tak de orang nak ambik gambar saya.

maka soalan saya, are there any photos with you in them? i know you will almost never post your photo here. But i was just wondering if you do have some for your personal collection?

Anonymous said...

hope you son gets better soon.

nice travel photos - i was slightly surprised to hear you read lonely planet publications too. abit like Nnydd, he likes to travel alone and before travelling he reads lonely planet books as guides to interesting places.

having recently travelled alot around the UK, i found that it does wonders to research and know what places to go beforehand.

ps
where's your next destination, england?

Anonymous said...

Mama Sarah-

Awok nak gambar Pycno? Kawe ada banyak dalam koleksi. Berapa awok nk bayar? :p

pycnogenol said...

Jalilah - Yes I was, and I had a wonderful time. Thank you.
Jangan lama-lama menghilang di alam maya ni, nanti hilang terus...

Mama Sarah - Any photos with me in them? Hardly, when I'm travelling alone.
And yes, you have to be extra careful when travelling solo for there's nobody to remind you this and that. But if you know Pycno, I can be very meticulous.

Mynn - Saw him last night, and he's getting better. Alhamdulillah.
BTW, who is this Nnydd, eh? Where is his site? He's in Edinburgh, right?
Where's my next destination? Coventry, perhaps... ;)

DITH - Ni yang susah ni bila jadi celebrity....gambar kita pun boleh jadi bahan perniagaan.

p/s: Pycno can just picture DITH menggaru kepala sorting out all those photos and putting price tags to all of them...he...he.. ;)

Anonymous said...

DITH
re: berapa mau bayar?

aiseyman, Got price one meh? We share-share in email lah. Bukannya pycno tau pun. I hush-hush. Promise won't let anyone know.

btw: GAmbar kahwin kak city pun 'free' je online.

Mynn
re:Pycno's remark, next destination = Coventry.

Mana nak beli carpet merah ni???

pycnogenol said...

Mama Sarah - Tak payah carpet-carpet merah. Bilis berbaris bagi tabik hormat pun sudah cukup mengharukan Pycno.

Anonymous said...

*drroza sedang membayangkan beribu ikan bilis berbaris di tepi jalan Coventry memberi tabik hormat kpd Pycno*

Anonymous said...

And Pycno melambai-lambai balik ala Queen Mother.

Anonymous said...

aduh lawak lah...

Anonymous said...

kah kah kah kelakar nya lambai macam queen mother tu.

pycno .. di jemput datang. tapi january - february may be kitorang dah packing nak balik malaysia lah :)

Jamil said...

I wonder why the ikan bilis *lol*

Anonymous said...

i visit this blog everyday to see if pycno would update ..... :)

pycnogenol said...

Mynn - So busy now Mynn. InsyaAllah, I'll try to update soon.

Anonymous said...

celebriti bz... mana sempat nak update kerana sibuk shooting. ;)

Anonymous said...

Ngilunya...!

pycnogenol said...

Ikelah - Apa tidak nya. Banyak program-program dan drama untuk disiarkan sepanjang bulan Ramadhan.
Bila Raya, bagi celebrity seperti Pycno, MasyaAllah, sibuk tak terkata.
Terima kasih kerana memahami... ;)

Mynn - Get yourself a nice autograph from UK. I promise to sign for you. You dont have to stand in the queue.

Skye - Up till now, I still cannot bring myself to see the finger (unwrapped). According to Bea, dah baik dah. But, there'll be one-nail less this Syawal for No. 4. He has to wait for at least 6 months for it to grow back.